BUXTON | Make sure you get the name right, if you donít want park rangers smirking at you.

When the original marble plaque was installed in 1972, it was called ďBody Island Lighthouse.Ē

Since then, the spelling his changed ó itís ďBodieĒ now. But itís still pronounced the same way ó as in, ďsomeoneís buried there.Ē Remember that when you visit if you donít want the rangers giving you smug looks as they correct you.

Itís creepy fun to think the island was originally named after all the bodies washing up from shipwrecks, but itís just as likely it was named for some ancient-of-days family. No one knows for sure, although Wikipedia is certain that the latter choice is a fact.

If North Carolina has a hard-luck lighthouse, Bodie Islandís would be it: It took three tries to get it right, and the fates of the first two were downright embarrassing.

A need for a lighthouse in the area was declared as early as 1837 ó land-hugging ships, using the cold northern current, needed something to let them know it was time to turn out to sea if they wanted to avoid the miles-wide Diamond Shoals 40 miles south. While shipwrecks piled up on the shores, it took 10 years to get the supplies, land and money for the lighthouse, which was built about a mile south of the current one on marshy ground. It was 57 feet tall. By then the Oregon Inlet had been open (thanks to a hurricane) for a year.

In a rare act of frugality, but a common act of bad planning, the government opted for a cheap foundation that left the lighthouse, in less than 10 years, leaning so badly that its mechanisms for turning the light (it worked with weighted chains, rather like a grandfather clock) quit working altogether. Not to mention, the sea was rapidly eating away the sand around it.

A new, 90-foot lighthouse was built nearby in 1858, but three years later the Confederates, who had the ludicrous idea that survival of their cause was more important than posterity, blew the tower up by 1862. Today, the sites of these original lighthouses are under water, near the Oregon Inlet bridge.

The lighthouse we know today, with its bands of black and white stripes, was built in 1872, this time on solid ground on the more erosion-proof sound-side of the island. Though significantly shorter than Hatteras (167 feet vs. 200), its construction is virtually identical to its more famous sister. It was given a first-order fresnel lens, allowing it to be seen 19 miles at sea, and is one of the few lighthouses where the original lens is still in place. That doesnít mean it hasnít had its problems. Neglect, and wear and tear left the tower in too poor a condition for visitors for years. Restoration work finally began in 2009, was stopped when additional problems appeared and money ran dry in 2011, but finally opened for climbing to the public on April 19, 2013.

Page 2 of 3 - Bodie Island Lighthouse is located four miles north of Oregon Inlet and is just a stoneís throw from Kitty Hawk, tacky treasures shops, and the huge sand dunes of Jockeys Ridge, but still manages to be one of the most isolated-appearing of all the lighthouses. Of the northern towers it strikes me as being the one most like it would have been in its days of glory: located next to a large estuarial marsh (a sign there reads ďThis area is home to snakes. Please use walkway.Ē), with only a few trees, serving as exclamation points on the flatland around, and without a human habitation (beyond the keeperís house) in sight, it is easy to imagine the daily life and duty of the old keepers who lugged their 60-pound cans of oil up those steps twice a day while their wives tilled the sand for a limited garden harvest.

Getting to the top takes a little longer at Bodie Island. Not that there are more steps ó at 214, you probably do more on your Stairmaster. But, unlike the other lighthouses under National Park control, this one comes with a guide who not only gives you an introductory lecture at the keeperís house, but continues to talk and guide you throughout your climb. We were stopped in a room of the oil storage building that is attached to the front of the tower, given more history and safety tips (our guide avoided the obvious, at least, and didnít tell us, ďDonít jumpĒ), then led us up the steps, stopping at a landing or two to lecture some more. We were unmolested on the gallery deck, at least, although the guide was there to answer questions and shoo us back down when our time was up.

Iím not complaining ó the information was good, and we were given plenty of time at the top. Iím just saying, is all.

It costs eight dollars to climb ó Oak Island is the only lighthouse in North Carolina where it doesnít cost you to climb. Well, they donít charge you at Ocracoke, but thatís only because they also donít let you climb. But, like all the other lighthouses, wandering the grounds is free.

The keeperís quarters serves as a mini-museum and welcome center, with a gift shop on one side. Thereís ample parking out front and a boardwalk that leads to a pleasant observation deck over a nearby estuarial pond. From there you can look back and get a fine sight of the lighthouse, and with some luck shore birds wading about. We didnít have that luck, by the way. But we got to watch some crabs scuttling about the shallows.

If youíre spending a day or so on just this lighthouse, youíll want to take in other sites as well: the nearby Wright Brothers Memorial has a reconstruction of their workshop and of their original airplane along with the memorial itself. Itís worth the trip and the $4 fee, but be careful if youíre in sandals: this place is a breeding ground for sandspurs. Jockeyís Ridge State Park is free, and there are often kite-flying events and nearby businesses that allow you to treat yourself to hang gliding (definitely not free). But itís a load of fun just exploring the dunes and revisiting your inner child by rolling down them.

Page 3 of 3 - And of course the beach is free. Roberta and I were sure to get up early to watch the sunrise and got the additional treat of a dolphin or two swimming by.

Next week we will go North Carolinaís northernmost light station, the Currituck Lighthouse.